When the UCLA men’s soccer team travels to take on UC
Santa Barbara today, it will be pitted against more than just the
11 Gauchos on the pitch.
The No. 11 Bruins (6-3-2, 2-1-1 Pac-10) will also be forced to
deal with at least 5,000 rowdy fans, who will constantly be
taunting every Bruin possible, including UCLA coach Jorge
Salcedo.
These chants won’t simply be general statements, but more
likely personal attacks based on anything from a player’s
appearance to on-field antics.
“I’m sure they’re doing their homework on how
to rattle our guys and how to get into our goalkeeper’s head,
finding out which guys are tall and which are short,” Salcedo
said.
When UCLA and UCSB (6-4-0) faced off last year, a Gaucho fan
sporting a cape made sure to yell loudly enough for Salcedo to hear
his jokes about the coach, who was then in just his second year.
Unfazed, however, the Bruins were able to beat the Gauchos 1-0 to
extend their unbeaten streak against the team to 16 wins.
Nonetheless, UCSB fans continue to hope that the streak will
come to an end and will try to do anything possible to see it
happen today.
“I’m sure they’re coming up with numerous,
very creative ways to poke fun at us,” Salcedo said.
“(The Gauchos) feed off their fans and off their
atmosphere.”
The atmosphere is one that the Bruins will have to adjust to
quickly, making sure not to let the Gauchos jump to an early lead
of any sort.
UCLA enters the game with confidence after winning consecutive
Pac-10 conference games at home, against Washington and Oregon
State, and the team hopes to maintain its aggression when it hits
the road tonight to face off against a non-conference rival.
“It’s nice to know that we’re back on track
and back in the run of things,” junior midfielder Greg Folk
said.
The Bruins know, however, that their situation could easily
change with a loss to the Gauchos, and they have been making sure
to find ways to avoid such a scenario.
To do so, Salcedo will once again rely on the play of several
freshmen who have stepped up to the challenge of filling the voids
in the lineup caused by various injuries. Though it would appear
that the freshmen would have a more difficult time dealing with the
crowd noise and the general atmosphere, Salcedo is confident in
their mental strength.
“They’ve already gone through similar situations in
Maryland and Virginia,” he said. “We had a lot of fans
trying to get into the players’ heads, even in the warm-up,
and a lot of players have also experienced youth international
games where fans are on their backs for the whole 90
minutes.”
The Bruins have been preparing for the Gauchos in practice this
week by working on spreading their offense, and they will also rely
on the outside midfielders and defenders to exploit what the UCSB
offense will attempt to run past UCLA.
Though the Bruins’ bigger game of the weekend will take
place against San Diego State on Sunday, today’s matchup
against a Gaucho club looking to break into the top 25 ““
which will be nationally televised on the Fox Soccer Channel
““ also serves a great purpose for the Bruins.
“This game is a nice way to showcase to the country where
we’re at now,” Salcedo said. “Everyone knows that
we have a lot of injuries and I’m sure people are interested
in how we’re still performing and winning games. It’s a
nice way for our young players to show what they’re made
of.”